LIVE UPDATES

Midterm campaign live updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate

ABC News is reporting on campaign developments in key states across the U.S.

The 2022 campaign is shaping up to be a historic, decisive moment in American politics.

From our reporters across the country, ABC News brings you all the latest on what the candidates are saying and doing -- and what voters want to happen in November's midterm elections.

For more from ABC News' team of reporters embedded in battleground states, watch "Power Trip: Those Seeking Power and Those Who Chase Them" on Hulu , with new episodes on Sunday.

Power Trip
Power Trip
"Power Trip: Those Seeking Power and Those Who Chase Them" follows 7 young reporters as they chase down candidates in the lead up to the midterms with George Stephanopoulos guiding them along the way.
Stream On Hulu

0

DeSantis, White House trade fire over migrant drop-offs

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Friday that the undocumented migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard came from Texas -- not Florida.

He defended his actions, noting that he transported the migrants -- who he said had plans to come to Florida -- with a portion of $12 million allocated in the state's budget to relocate undocumented migrants out of the state.

"They went from Texas to Florida to Martha's Vineyard," DeSantis told reporters in Daytona Beach. "I have 12 million for us to use, and so we are going to use it and you're gonna see more and more. I'm going to make sure that we exhaust all those funds."

DeSantis also took a swipe at President Joe Biden -- suggesting he has lured people out of their countries with the "false promise" that the borders were open, then leaving them "high and dry."

The White House on Friday lashed back, arguing that the Florida governor and Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott -- who routinely transports undocumented immigrants to blue states -- engage in the practice as "cruel" political theater.

"These were children. They were moms. They were fleeing communism. And what did Governor DeSantis and Governor Abbott do to them? They use them as political pawns, treated them like chattel in a cruel, premeditated political stunt," White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said.

DeSantis ended his presser by responding to Gov. Newsom's request for the DOJ to investigate Florida and Texas' moves.

"The governor of California sent a letter to the Department of Justice saying, 'you need to prosecute the Texas and Florida governors' and all I can say is: I think his hair gel is interfering with his brain," DeSantis said.

–ABC News' Miles Cohen


GOP leaders seek base-driving narratives: The Note

If the point was to make a point, the mission has already been accomplished.

That's not the same as saying the midterms look any different than they did before a few prominent Republican figures made major political moves that sure look like stunts, even if they carry significant messaging and human impact.

It is to say that they are trying to establish a new set of narratives. This week was marked by efforts from several Republicans -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham -- aiming to put their party on offense.

For Graham, it was a bill banning almost all abortions after 15 weeks nationwide, a move that drew praise for its clarity from anti-abortion groups and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others. But pushback also came from inside Graham’s party -- from lawmakers and candidates who want abortion rights figured out state by state and would rather be talking about high inflation anyway -- and also well outside of it.

Read more here.

-- ABC News' Rick Klein


In Georgia, Walker backs DeSantis' Martha’s Vineyard migrant stunt

On Friday, Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker lauded the move by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to send migrants to Martha's Vineyard.

The Trump-endorsed former NFL running back, following a tour of the Port of Savannah with the president of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd, told ABC News that DeSantis' decision brought attention to the border after he said the Biden administration "did absolutely nothing."

"You weren't talking about it yesterday. Nobody wanted to talk about it. Now he got someone's attention," Walker said. "We know that we have a problem at the border. So something has to be done. So, I'm saying hey, right now, something's gotta be done. So, if they have to send people all over the country, do that."

-- ABC News' Lalee Ibssa in Savannah


Colorado river drought cuts through midterm races

The scorched-earth fight over a shrinking supply of water in Western states is playing out in key midterm races along the depleted Colorado River.

Paul "Paco" Ollerton, 67, a third-generation farmer and registered Republican who says he's undecided in the November midterms, worries how his cotton farm might suffer next year when Arizona sees a massive cut in its allocation of Colorado River water.

"It's gonna get tough," Ollerton told ABC News in a phone interview, one year after ABC correspondent Kayna Whitworth walked with him through his Casa Grande farm. "There's no doubt about it, and I question whether agriculture in this state will even be able to survive."

Read more here.

-- ABC News' Libby Cathey in Phoenix


Warren heading to Wisconsin for early voting rally with Evers

Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is expected to campaign on Oct. 26 for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and state Attorney General Josh Kaul in what is the latest appearance by a prominent Democrat to rally voters weeks before the high-stakes midterms.

The events with Warren, first reported by ABC News, will also feature Wisconsin's Democratic senator, Tammy Baldwin.

Baldwin, Evers, Kaul and Warren will host an early voting event focused on young people near the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, according to the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

Baldwin and Kaul are expected to walk with a group of students to an early voting location to cast their ballots.

Barnes is in a tight race to defeat incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican.

Polling shows that Evers is in a toss-up race, too, against Republican challenger Tim Michels, with the latest FiveThirtyEight average showing Evers with less than 1% lead.

In a statement to ABC News, the Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said: "This election is deadlocked, and no one can sit this out. If Wisconsin students turn out to show the GOP they won’t let them trample on their rights, Democrats will win up and down the ballot. Senator Warren is an electrifying voice who will bring her incomparable energy and vision to mobilize Wisconsin students at exactly the moment it’s needed most."

In her own statement, Warren said, "Voters in Wisconsin know what is at stake in this election. Wisconsinites have the opportunity to vote for [Senate nominee] Mandela Barnes, Tony Evers, and Democrats all the way down the ballot who will fight to restore a woman’s right to choose, to bring down costs, to build an economy that works for all of us, and to attack the climate crisis head on. I’m proud to join them in this critical fight."

Warren joins a growing list of big-name Democrats -- including former President Barack Obama -- to hit the trail in various battleground states before Election Day.

They hope to counter the history of rough midterm elections for the party in power, plus major headwinds like high inflation, in part by focusing on Republican-backed restrictions on abortion and the extremism of some of the GOP nominees.

When asked by reporters after a gubernatorial debate on Friday whether former President Donald Trump planned to stump for the Republican ticket in Wisconsin, Brian Fraley, a communications specialist for the Michels campaign, said they would notify the press if such an event was scheduled.

Fraley said then that Obama coming to Milwaukee was a "sign" that the Evers campaign was "in trouble" because "they're calling in all the big dogs."

-- ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett and Paulina Tam